So What First Got you into Scrapping? - Page 2

Originally Posted by 406Refining

My story started when I was a little tot. I've been scrapping since I was 6 or 7 years old. My family owned an electronics manufacturing facility. As a result I got a lot of wire, components, and circuit boards. It became a very small hobby for the next several years until about a year and a half ago when I really started pushing hard on the scrap steel side of things and running it more like a business. After that first year and 33,000 pounds of metal I realized that there was serious competition in my area for scrap and it didn't make sense to compete for $15 per truckload so I started looking into appliance parts. It started small with just dishwashers and microwaves, but very quickly expanded to washer and dryer parts. I now do very little with scrap and deal mostly with appliance parts and similar items. A lot has changed in the past 2 years, but the new direction is looking to be a good path to take for years to come.

Moving into appliance parts IMO was a good decision.

If I lived in the USA I would do the same.

When I was do appliance repair years ago the timers were all mechanical and with care you could rob a good set of contacts from a donor to replace the burnt set.

With your electronics background are you replacing any chips that are burned out on these newer electronic controls.

im a qualified plumber & thats what got me first into scrapping
i completed a big plumbing job & had a lot of old copper pipes & brass valves etc- i scrapped that and just lost interest in plumbing and began focusing more on scrap.

im sure i would have made much more money by continuing with plumbing but i dont like working in peoples homes & according to their timetable/availability.
with scrap, i just have to pick up whatever they have & after that im free to do as i please.
not to mention that i just HATE rush hour traffic.

Originally Posted by Proton

Moving into appliance parts IMO was a good decision.

With your electronics background are you replacing any chips that are burned out on these newer electronic controls.

I started looking into that since I have access to the chip replacement equipment at the place I work. I brought up the idea to the boss and he said "as long as you aren't doing it during work hours and record what parts you use we have no problem with it." Ok! I've started small on board repairs doing simple relays and transformers replacements, but am very seriously looking into replacing regulators, transistors, IC's, etc. It is absolutely mind blowing how many of these boards are thrown out every year because a $0.15 component broke on the board.

I deal with commercial roofing. For several years we just tossed the old metal flashings and any old equipment in the dumpster with the rest of the tear off. In 2006, my son was born and the wife stayed home to raise him. I was looking for additional income streams. I decided on a warehouse reroof that I would just load all the old gutters and downspouts on a trailer to see if it was worth my time. It netted $150 and I was hooked. Before long we were doing projects with multiple old HVAC units, I-beam supports, and decking along with the standard metal. I have been doing it ever since through the good times and bad.